I live down under in New Zealand,below Australia.Im in my 70s now but I have been restoreing/repairing pocket size and table top transistor radios since I was in my teens.I have a small collection left because the collection became too much,so gave away some to interested people but the ones I still have are the best of my collection and all work to their original condition.A few Ive had to recap,resolder cracked circuits and repair the plastic/bakalite cases.Amazing the designs and colours they were in their day.I m always hunting for more,some I have for spare parts that are not worth repairing but I try to get them all going.Condensers are hard to get hold of the foil wrapped ones and you cant solder to foil.So some components are very hard to get hold of unless you have one or some for parts.Volume pots wear out mostly.Re-alignment is easy as long as no one has already cracked the carbon threaded tuning rods,that are caped with wax.Its a very passionate hobby of mine and getting very hard to find now these days.Espeicaly down under here in little New Zealand.
I think that up here these things are treated like throw away items. Most were tossed when better designs came out. I just happened to acquire what I have from a friend who collects everything!
I have my grandmother's 1971 Panasonic Model R-1551 AM transistor radio and I love it. Picks up everything and 4 AA alkalines last 2-3 years. It also has AC power. Great little radio. I never had to fix it still works fine.
@@dontheoldradioguy7180 all I know is the circuit board is only 2-1/2"x4" so it was probably used in pocket radios too. It picks up every station on the dial in the middle of the night. Other than a crackly volume control it works like a champ. Once I left it on for 3 days with the sound all the way down and the batteries were still good. I was quite surprised by that.
@@dontheoldradioguy7180 I just took the back off to check. The transistors are in metal cans and there are 7. I've owned radios with as few as 5 as a child but they don't work as well as this one.
I used to collect and sell vintage Panasonic radios. They always worked or were very easy to recap and realign. I still have a bunch actually. It's amazing how many of em look new after 40/50 years.
I think they are worth it. At first I thought you meant the pocket ones lol! Those are hard to work on but still interesting also. I often keep a radio on so I don't always have to keep a computer on.
I found a altec lansing with exposed tubes dated 1955 with a tuner that works b u t gets hot,enough to cause a fire. I theorize as I shut it down. My question is if there is housing missing on the Amp with exposed tubes.it is like new but it overheats and also humming,the speakers are 3 feet x 4 feet and 18 inches wide .I can't fix it myself but do you think I should have it repaired?estimate is 400 US dollars
Hi. I definately would NOT use it until it's been serviced. More than the household hazard it will likely be seriously damaged with use under that condition. Get it to a good service centre and get it serviced.
I belong to the Colorado Radio Collectors club and am a retired radio tech. I have found the same thing as you. change the electrolytic caps and away we go.
caps arent always to blame or bad, most of my many transistor sets are 'virgin', and still working perfectly, i take each case as it comes, have more trouble with tin whisker shorted transistors than anything else!
@@andygozzo72 modern caps use plastic insulation and usually do not fail. but the old ones were wax paper insulation and did fail a lot. that is where the idea originated to change the cap when changing the points.
Germanium transistors are generally not available. I've had early console stereos with geranium transistors that had to be scrapped because so many were open or shorted or otherwise did not perform and I could find no suitable replacements. In this radio's case the transistors were all fine, as the final performance shows.
@@dontheoldradioguy7180 they are usually available, not 'new' but old stock, quite a lot of russian ones seem to be quite freely available, but need a bit of experimenting to find one that works well, and they have strange package types..
the worst germaniums are the AF11x series or similar types, as they're notorious for developing tin whisker shorts, you can sometimes blow these out with a charged capacitor, but its kill or cure, luckily only killed one so far ..
@@dontheoldradioguy7180 also as a 'last resort' or maybe do it anyway, it 'may' be possible to modify the biasing to allow silicon transistors to be used, but that will need a fair amount of experimentation as theres no one size fits all mod that works in all parts of the circuit ,
![Rare REED-TYPE Speaker in a 1964 Transistor Radio RESURRECTION - GE P807J [4K]](/img/n.gif)
I live down under in New Zealand,below Australia.Im in my 70s now but I have been restoreing/repairing pocket size and table top transistor radios since I was in my teens.I have a small collection left because the collection became too much,so gave away some to interested people but the ones I still have are the best of my collection and all work to their original condition.A few Ive had to recap,resolder cracked circuits and repair the plastic/bakalite cases.Amazing the designs and colours they were in their day.I m always hunting for more,some I have for spare parts that are not worth repairing but I try to get them all going.Condensers are hard to get hold of the foil wrapped ones and you cant solder to foil.So some components are very hard to get hold of unless you have one or some for parts.Volume pots wear out mostly.Re-alignment is easy as long as no one has already cracked the carbon threaded tuning rods,that are caped with wax.Its a very passionate hobby of mine and getting very hard to find now these days.Espeicaly down under here in little New Zealand.
Hi friend. Here in Brazil many people do repair and restoration in this old transistor even in some cases tube radios. Thanks for share.
I think that up here these things are treated like throw away items. Most were tossed when better designs came out. I just happened to acquire what I have from a friend who collects everything!
What a well made radio, lots of metal and sturdy looking.
No silicone chips to fail and impossible to find years later.
I have my grandmother's 1971 Panasonic Model R-1551 AM transistor radio and I love it. Picks up everything and 4 AA alkalines last 2-3 years. It also has AC power. Great little radio. I never had to fix it still works fine.
Panasonic made the best stuff and really lasts.
That's what I don't understand. That little 9 transistor radio picks up difficult stations better than my state of the art Yamaha 7.1 receiver
I have always loved their Technics lines of receivers and turntables
@@dontheoldradioguy7180 all I know is the circuit board is only 2-1/2"x4" so it was probably used in pocket radios too. It picks up every station on the dial in the middle of the night. Other than a crackly volume control it works like a champ. Once I left it on for 3 days with the sound all the way down and the batteries were still good. I was quite surprised by that.
@@dontheoldradioguy7180 I just took the back off to check. The transistors are in metal cans and there are 7. I've owned radios with as few as 5 as a child but they don't work as well as this one.
I used to collect and sell vintage Panasonic radios. They always worked or were very easy to recap and realign. I still have a bunch actually. It's amazing how many of em look new after 40/50 years.
Yup. the one I did in the video, except for the broken whip antenna was pretty good even down to the leather stitching.
Good looking Radio . Quality sound is always better when earphone jack is hooked to a larger speaker.
Yes it would, but it does sound surprisingly good as it is!
HI. You know the sound from the internal speaker is pretty good too. I'm just more impressed with it's sensitivity
I have a zenith transoceanic 3000-1 and it's awesome!
Awesome radio, but very difficult to work on
You bet. The quality is better as they had better sound. The cases mostly made heavier. Had heft and "presence" that we don't see now. Thanks
just like most everything these days. Just cheap stuff to go to the landfill just after warranty expires.
I think they are worth it. At first I thought you meant the pocket ones lol! Those are hard to work on but still interesting also. I often keep a radio on so I don't always have to keep a computer on.
Hi Bob. I doubt that I would spend any time on a pocket transistor radio. They tend to be a.m. only and we get only one a.m. station up here.
I have yet to venture into transistor radio repair but they are becoming increasingly collectible. But the AM switch off is a problem.
It a different technology, that's for sure. Cheap ones to experiment on are usually available at flea markets
I had a 1975 GE portable radio(Radio Shack), a cool Christmas present.
Brand new, I had it for years. I miss it.
I found a altec lansing with exposed tubes dated 1955 with a tuner that works b u t gets hot,enough to cause a fire. I theorize as I shut it down. My question is if there is housing missing on the Amp with exposed tubes.it is like new but it overheats and also humming,the speakers are 3 feet x 4 feet and 18 inches wide .I can't fix it myself but do you think I should have it repaired?estimate is 400 US dollars
Hi. I definately would NOT use it until it's been serviced. More than the household hazard it will likely be seriously damaged with use under that condition. Get it to a good service centre and get it serviced.
I belong to the Colorado Radio Collectors club and am a retired radio tech. I have found the same thing as you. change the electrolytic caps and away we go.
I was shocked that it performed so well after restoration. I always thought these things were throw away quality
caps arent always to blame or bad, most of my many transistor sets are 'virgin', and still working perfectly, i take each case as it comes, have more trouble with tin whisker shorted transistors than anything else!
in some cases the caps may seem to be bad on first test after long years of disuse but when powered up will soon reform and work well
@@andygozzo72 modern caps use plastic insulation and usually do not fail. but the old ones were wax paper insulation and did fail a lot. that is where the idea originated to change the cap when changing the points.
@@andygozzo72 in rare cases. but the most troublesome things in old radio are electrolytic and wax paper caps.
most are worth repairing, as long as no major 'unobtanium' parts failed or missing
Germanium transistors are generally not available. I've had early console stereos with geranium transistors that had to be scrapped because so many were open or shorted or otherwise did not perform and I could find no suitable replacements. In this radio's case the transistors were all fine, as the final performance shows.
@@dontheoldradioguy7180 they are usually available, not 'new' but old stock, quite a lot of russian ones seem to be quite freely available, but need a bit of experimenting to find one that works well, and they have strange package types..
the worst germaniums are the AF11x series or similar types, as they're notorious for developing tin whisker shorts, you can sometimes blow these out with a charged capacitor, but its kill or cure, luckily only killed one so far ..
@@andygozzo72 Thanks, that's good to know. It might just help save a couple of big ole consoles from the late 60's to early 70's
@@dontheoldradioguy7180 also as a 'last resort' or maybe do it anyway, it 'may' be possible to modify the biasing to allow silicon transistors to be used, but that will need a fair amount of experimentation as theres no one size fits all mod that works in all parts of the circuit ,
How much cost of this radio. I like this इंडियन cost.
If you are asking if it is for sale, it is not. It is part of my personal collection. Thanks, Don